Community News: Emphasis on education pushes Vietnamese students to top
Posted by: Man on Jul 19, 2004 - 08:11 AM
ARLINGTON, TEXAS - Pride in being Vietnamese helped drive Christina Ta to become salutatorian at an Arlington high school.
For Thuy Nguyen, the sight of people who were missing limbs crawling through her home country's rain-soaked streets inspired her to take advantage of educational opportunities in America and become valedictorian at a Keller school district high school.
Ta, Nguyen and six other Vietnamese students were honored at a luncheon Saturday for graduating in the first or second place of Dallas-Fort Worth high schools.
"The Vietnamese culture, in general, has a very big emphasis on education," said Ta, who just graduated from Sam Houston High School in Arlington and will attend Texas Christian University in Fort Worth to study biology.
Nguyen, the 2004 valedictorian of Fossil Ridge High School in north Fort Worth, will attend Georgetown University in Washington, D.C., to study biochemistry.
Speakers at the fourth annual Vietnamese-American Youth Excellence Recognition Luncheon at the Empress Palace restaurant repeatedly stressed pride in Vietnamese culture and academic success. The Vietnamese Culture and Science Association sponsored the event.
But it was more than a group celebrating its culture and success stories. Scholars have found that this brand of ethnic pride can be a huge contributor to academic success.
A 1998 California State University study of Asian-American students found that students who valued assimilation while preserving their heritage had a higher grade-point average.
John Whitmore, co-author of Children of the Boat People; A Study of Educational Success, said he examined the phenomenon of Southeast Asian refugees turning into top students in the late 1980s and found deep cultural influences at work.
"They're used to classrooms; they're used to the authority of teachers and the advancement that education can bring," Whitmore said. "It's a very East Asian, Chinese thing."
Evidence of that was in many of the speeches Saturday.
"The graduates have brought honor not only to their parents, but to the Vietnamese community," said Diana Doan, North Crowley High School's 2002 valedictorian.
"It has become a role, a duty ... to represent Vietnamese heritage," said Tam Nguyen, Sam Houston's 2003 valedictorian. "Remember your roots, and always be proud to say, 'I am Vietnamese.' "
Keynote speaker Huong Tran Nguyen, a teacher in residence at California State University at Long Beach, praised the graduates' achievements but suggested that Vietnamese deference to teacher authority might be a little too strong.
She suggested that Vietnamese parents not leave all schooling to their children's teachers and instead get involved with the school and meet with the teachers.
"When parents show up and show that they care, teachers notice," she said. "In the United States, schools do expect and hope all of you will be part of this partnership."
Very cool
I wonder if the Tam Nguyen's quote was used in her valedictorian speech (italicized above). If it was, then wow, that would have ostracized white people. Oh well, it's time we condition the white people to automatically step down when they're competing against Vietnamese
